Dasoku
by MuttMode
Summary: "The UA course is one of the most esteemed hero programs in the country! Only 1 in 300 applicants go through and if you graduate UA, you're destined to be a great hero! I need to do this! I need to know that I'm not just some monster!" Keira lives with her ex-hero brother, running a small cafe in an ex-villain neighborhood. UA should really be the least of her problems. OC-INSERT!
1. Chapter 1

"Did you hear, that rookie that used to live across the street from Auntie June's decided to rampage on main street today?"

"What, that shark fellow? Didn't know he had it in him"

Two men sat next to each other at a wooden bar, the steam from the cups in front of them disappearing as they chatted. By their feet were two duffle bags, weather worn and packed to the brim. One of the men kicked his own bag further under his stool with a scuffed boot as he laughed at his companion.

"Don't you worry about that, he was just throwing a tantrum" He took a sip of his coffee before shaking his head, "tried to steal some purse and the lady made a huge fuss over it. Kid just didn't get his own way"

The other man ran a hand through grey hair before reaching for his own cup, "ahh I miss the good old days," he muttered as he took a sip, "when rookies would plan this kind of shit before they acted"

A hand collided with the bar with a hard smack as the grey-haired man's companion spat out a laugh, "Didn't stop your ass from getting chucked into prison Gorou, even _with_ all your planning! did you forget that banks have security systems in your old age"

Gorou waved a hand towards the laughing man, a sneer on his wrinkled face, "Bah, technology, what's it good for"

"Stopping us villains from doing bad shit, obviously"

"Hey now, ex-villains you mean" Both men looked up as a colossus of a man poked his head out from a doorway, boxes in arm and a wide smile on his face. He squeezed past the frame, his giant stature making it harder than it should have been before dropping the boxes on the bench. He wiped his forehead with his arm as he regarded the older men fondly.

"Last I heard Kenta, you were volunteering down at the shelter."

The man in question blushed a bit before turning away to look out a window with fake nonchalance. As he turned, his hair fell away from the side of his face revealing a mess of scars that made the bartender furrow his brows in sadness.

"yeah well, them good folks," Kenta muttered out, rubbing the back of his neck before picking up his drink, "helping us ex-villains out when we have no place to go. Thought I would be sleeping on the streets when I finished up my time"

Gorou hummed in an agreement, "yeah, if I wasn't for good folk like yourself Nick, there wouldn't be much for us to do, 'part from commit more crimes"

"who am I to turn away people who are just looking for a second chance," Nick gave a wide grin before taking both the men's empty cups. A soft piano tune sprang up from the background and Nick hummed along with it under his breath as he started on new cups.

Looking out the window as he waited for everything to brew, Nick took the time to relax against the counter and reminisce. He had opened the bar a while back now, nearing on 7 years and he couldn't help but sigh in disbelief at how quickly the time had passed. It seemed like it was yesterday when he had signed the contract for the two-story building. He had got the place cheap, what with it being nestled in the bad part of town but he didn't mind, rather he was almost thankful for it. Not many people opened up shop in a villain infested neighbourhood, so business was booming with all kinds of people coming in, looking for a cheap meal. Of course, there was always trouble but not many people wanted to mess with someone with as insane of a strength quirk as Nick had and after a while, word got around that the guy in charge of _Dasoku_ had pretty reasonable prices and didn't jack them up based on who walked in the door. Nick got to know a lot of different people over the years, a clear majority becoming regulars and eventually family, especially when some individuals would try to take on the bartender. Nick never asked what happened to the trouble makers, he had a pretty good idea, and just went about his business, serving and chatting with those that came through.

A high-pitched beeping sound snapped Nick out of his daze and he jumped, startled. Gorou and Kenta both laughed at the friendly bartender, getting a good kick out of seeing the colossal man easily frightened by something as simples as the coffee machine.

"and here I thought Nick had balls of steal and the swiftest of reflexes," Gorou goaded with a smirk. Kenta burrowed his face into his arm, trying, and failing, to hide his manic laughter.

"Oh, you think that's funny hey? Whose giving you guys free refills huh? We'll see whose laughing when those stop coming" Gorou could only chuckle as Nick dumped the hot cups in front of them before reaching out and rubbing his knuckles into Kenta's head, snickering at his pained whines.

A few moments passed with Kenta finally reigning in his laughing fit enough to drink his coffee. The bar wasn't usually busy during the mornings, with many people coming in for lunch and dinner rather than breakfast, however Nick could always count on the regulars that would pop in for coffee. Other than Gorou and Kenta, two individuals were clustered together in one of the back booths, muttering in harsh whispers that would be sporadically interrupted with a loud shout before quieting down. Just past the booths, a beautiful melodic piano tune drifted, the piano hidden from Nick's sight, but he didn't fret, already knowing who was playing so early in the morning.

He smiled at Gorou and Kenta's conversation, still talking about how terrible most of the rookie villains were now-a-days, before his attention was stolen by the loud, unorthodox thuds coming from the stair case overhead the bar. Peering up from between the stairs, he huffed at the sight of woollen socks decorated with different breeds of cartoon dogs.

Leaning against the bar, Nick held his chin in his hand and smiled fondly as a young black-haired girl hopped down the last few stairs before grabbing onto the handrail and swinging around to acknowledge them with a smile.

"Ahh, there's my little sister. Finally risen from the dead to help your poor brother open up huh?"

The girl mocked her brother with a sneer as she ducked underneath the bar. Punching her brother in the arm, she pulled and secured her short hair with a hair tie as she walked towards the coffee machine. A few strands fell out and framed her face to which she swept them behind her ear before pouring that last of the new pot into a mug to drink.

"Wouldn't sleep in so late if someone wasn't such a snorer" She remarked back in a rough voice, hiding a smirk behind her mug. Nick simply rolled his eyes and open one of the drawers, grasping the fabric inside before tossing it towards his sister.

"Alright alright, get your apron on idiot, the twins have been arguing for nearly 10 minutes and I'm afraid today might be the day they rip themselves apart"

Yelping as the apron hit her face, she forgoes her cup of coffee to put the cloth around her waist. Draining the last of the caffeine in one huge gulp, she chucks the dish in the sink before ducking under the bar, narrowly missing Nick's famous hair ruffle.

Padding across the bar, she approaches the twin's booth where they sat, heads huddled together and frantically muttering about something.

"If you remembered the damn detonator, then why didn't you remind _me_ about it!"

"because I had to think of how we were going to get into the event, where we were going to place the explosives and how we were going to avoid all the pro heroes that were going to be coming after our asses!"

"We are literally conjoined, you dumbass! It would've taken you two seconds to turn your head slightly to the left and be like, 'hey Shio don't forget the detonator, so we can actually DO WHAT WE CAME HERE TO DO"

"it was your only job, Koshou!"

At this point the two were quite literally head to head, growling and cursing in each other's faces. With a sarcastic smirk, the young girl leant against the head of the opposite booth seats and stared at the couple.

"you know guys, my career as a villain looks very promising when I have such great examples of what not to do when committing a felony"

Mismatched eyes both turned to look at the smirking girl, her amber eyes flashing with amusement. The twins scoffed in unison, rolling their eyes at the black-eyed girls comment.

"Shut it Keria, you couldn't be a villain even if you tried," Shio taunted, "You're not scary enough" Watching his brother stick his tongue out, Koshou barked out a laugh, nodding along.

"Yeah Keira, you don't have a villainous bone in your body. Stick to your goody two shoe dreams"

The twins snickered in unison, hi-fiving each other with smirks pulled across their face. Keira couldn't help but laugh as they missed completely and ended up hitting each other in the face, moving around the back of the booth seat to collect their empty mugs.

"Yeha yeah, whatever, surrounded by villains but wants to be a hero. Lay off my dreams and I'll leave you to yours, however far-fetched they may be. Now do you want a refill or not?"

With chimes of yes' and pleases', Keira left the scatterbrained duo to their plans and wandered over to the piano that sat just around the corner from the bar. A grizzled old man sat at the bench, his fingers pressing along the keys letting a melodic song to float throughout the bar, setting a rather peaceful atmosphere for the early morning. Keira leant against the old instrument, running her fingers over familiar scratches and scuff marks idly as she watched on silently.

The old man was Masahrio, a man who had been coming to the small bar since its opening. He was the first one through the doors at opening, and if nothing stole his attention away for the day, the last to leave. He moved between the table closet to the bar and the piano, playing beautiful tunes one moment or berating Nick on his coffee making skills the next.

Keira hummed along with the last few notes of the familiar tune before clapping softly as Masahiro finished with a flourish of his worn hands. The old man glanced down at Keira's sock clad feet before looking up at the girl in front of him, flashing a mixture of gold and white teeth.

"Finally come down to do your job hey?"

Keira let out an unflattering snort as she crossed her arms around her chest, "Is it really a job if I don't get paid"

" _I'll pay you when you finally move out, you ungrateful brat"_ Keira and Masahiro both let out barking laughs, and keira peeked her head out from around the corner, looking at her brother who as leaning against the bar with a smirk on his face.

"Ahh, dear brother, you'd miss me way too much"

Masahiro lets out a soft chuckle, closing the lid of the piano and slowly moving the piano bench back. Shoes with gold plates on the toes peeked out, one tapping sharply against the wooden floors to bring the snickering girls attention back to him. Reaching out a hand, he motioned for Keira to take it.

"Want me to make the usual for you?" She grasps Masahiro's hand, helping the man to his feet and pulling his arm around her shoulders. Masahiro was a tall man, only appearing shorter due to the hunch he had developed in the past couple of years however his age was catching up to him and would usually rely on the siblings for assistance when he didn't have his cane with him.

The man gave a quiet nod, reaching out to grasp the skull topped cane that leant against the wall, and pulling his arm away from Keria's shoulder to instead wrap around her own.

"You always make my coffee the right way, little one, so yes"

Waiting a moment for Masahiro to situate himself, Keria started to escort him to his self-designated table. He didn't seem to lean as much on her with the help of his cane, funnily enough he seemed to be holding her up as her socks slipped slightly on the wooden floors.

Setting his cane against the table, Masahiro sat heavily down in one of the old chairs, sighing in relief. Patting Keria's arm as she unwound it, he motioned for her to come down to his level. Placing his hand in front of his mouth like he was about to whisper something of great importance, Keria watched as his eyes seemed to glaze over.

"Nick's gonna fuck this cup up more than usual today. Don't know how he got this place off the ground with such poor skills." Masahiro let out a hearty laugh at the sound of indignation that erupted from the bar.

"I heard that, old man. I may not be a hero anymore, But I'll still kick your wrinkly ass"

Keria snickered as the two men bantered with each other, ducking under the bar to work at the coffee machine. Pulling out a mug decorated in cartoon cats, she went about making Masahiro's coffee. For as long as she had been living at the bar, Masahiro had always requested for her to make his coffees, even at the age of 8. He had talked her through the process, waving away Nick's insistence of just making it himself whenever she would muck it up. She picked it up pretty quickly, learning through doing was much easier for her than someone telling her what to do.

"Oi Keira," She turned her head slightly, humming at the two ex-cons sitting at the bar, newly made coffees in front of them, "exams for UA are a couple of months away, you ready?"

Letting out a despondent sigh, Keria shrugged her shoulders, "10 months actually, and I feel like I have the physical down pat, but it's the written portion I'm worried about. As much as the stuff all of you teach me is interesting and important, I'm still behind everyone in class, and none of the teachers really care"

Nick scoffed, shaking his head in disgust, "stupid education system," leaning against the bar opposite Gorou and Kenta, he crossed his arms with a scowl, "just because you don't have some flashy quirk doesn't mean your less than any other student out there"

"yeah, but what's good with sending more emails to the school! Hopefully it wont matter anymore, that is if I get into UA"

"Of course, you'll get in," Gorou chimed in, a cheeky grin on his face, "they would be crazy not to take you!" He raises his coffee to Kenta to toast. Keria laughed at the two men, Kenta crying out as the other man toasted too hard and spilled the coffee on his pants. She finished off Masahiro's coffee, topping it off with a bit of the chocolate dust that he said reminded him of home before bringing it around.

"Exactly right, you're meant to do great things, little one, and I may be old, but this quirk still has some juice left in it"

"Thanks, old man," Keria placed his cat mug in front of him before grasping his shoulder with a small but genuine smile on her face. Masahiro reached forward and grasped the cup, taking a deep smell and exhaling in content. He pats her hand in thanks before taking a sip of his drink.

A shout brought the groups attention to the bickering twins and Kenta spun around on the stool, patting the coffee stain with a napkin, "You hear that, you menaces, Old Masahiro here says Keira is gonna be the best hero and once she is on the streets, you wont be able to do anymore of those petty pranks you like to call crimes!"

The two look over, sneers on their faces, "At least we can do crimes without spontaneously combusting every three seconds" Koushou let out a laugh at his brother's words, and both simultaneously stuck their tongues out. Kenta let out a scoff before turning back around to reach for more napkins.

"And anyway, Keria loves us, so she wouldn't mind turning a blind eye, right Keria!" They both whirled around to stare at Keira with puppy dog pouts and crazy mismatched eyes, hands coming up to clasp under Shio's chin.

Keria stared at them with a raise brow before turning away, waving a hand behind her in dismissal.

"You wish!"

Both twins whined her name as she ducked behind the counter. Nick threw an arm around her shoulders as his own shook in laughter and she couldn't help but break character and laugh with him.

The day continued on like usual. Keria, with the help of her brother, would run around, serving whoever walking in the door, greeting the regulars, introducing herself to the newcomers and watching with a scowl on her face as the troublemakers would get tossed out. By the end of the day she had made over a hundred coffees, had three on the spot villain lessons, slipped twice due to her socks and had a new drawing pinned to the wall.

Keria stood, staring at the new addition to the already full wall. Nick closed the door, pulling the lock across and flicking the open sign around. Padding over to where his sister stood staring at the drawing with intensity, he crossed his arms and looked at the new piece.

They stood for a few moments of silence before both cocking their heads to the side at the same time.

"He is getting pretty good y'know" Nick said with an impressed tone. Keira hummed in agreement.

"Yeah, it should be disturbing how well he can draw the ghosts now, even with all their injuries. although I did have to tell him that blood was actually blue. Mayu-san was complaining about the pictures being too inappropriate for young boys to draw"

Nick scoffed before walking away, sweeping up mugs and plates as he went, "I'm pretty sure Yasu is older than _Mayu-sama_ " Nick said mockingly as he waltzed behind the bar. Keira laughed aloud, following her brother and hopping up on one of the stools. She watched with a fond smile as Nick started up a new pot of coffee, pulling out their two mugs from the sink and drying them as he went. He went about the whole thing routinely, popping out the back momentarily and emerging with a slice of chocolate iced cake on a plate. Settling the plate and the two mugs between them, he reached behind him and grabbed the pot of coffee just as the timer rang.

They ate the cake between them, battling each other with forks and short grunts of protest for the last crumb. The silence as they drank their coffee was welcome, especially after busy days manning the small café.

"I'm proud of you, y'know" Nick said after a while, looking down at the mug in his hands. It had small orange hexagons on it with a stark white 'H' in this middle of each. Keira had had it made for him for his birthday as a joke, but he used it every night when they had a drink together.

Keria looked up, eyes scrunching up in confusions and a blush flooding her cheeks in embarrassment. Looking back down sharply after Nick gave her an amused grin, she muttered into her own mug, "Why'd you say that?"

Nick shrugged at this, "you're just working really hard for this, working hard to get into UA. After how our family treated you and I, I didn't think I would ever see you act like this again"

Keira's grip grew tight on her mug as she scrunched up her brows, "I have to do this," she whispered, "The UA course is one of the most esteemed hero programs in the country, probably even the world! Only 1 in 300 applicants go through and if you graduate UA, you're destined to be a great hero! It doesn't matter what Oji-san feels, I need to do this. I need to try at least, even if its just getting to do the entrance exams. I need to know that I'm not just some… some monster!"

Nick's hand shot out, dwarfing his sisters as she squeezed the mug tightly. Spider cracks shot out from beneath her palm and she quickly let go of the cup. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let out a deep breath. Nick released her hands and scooped the fractured cup up, tipping the liquid out and tossing it in the bin. Reaching below the sink, he grabbed a similar looking mug and topped it up with water before handing it back to his sister.

He watched as she took several deep gulps, "don't ever let their words get to you. They are small minded people with large wallets and even larger egos."

"I know, I know. I just… I can't help it. It's like they are always with me, shouting at me in the back of my head" Nick frowned, before coming around the side of the bar and standing at his sister's side. Placing his hand on her head, he turned her to face him. She looked up with dejected lidded eyes, a small sad frown marring her face and Nick could do nothing but ruffle her hair gently.

"It doesn't matter what they say Keira. You are strong, stronger than they ever would have thought, you are intelligent, despite what that good for nothing school says, and you have the support of some of the most unlikely people." He knelt slightly to look at her face on before giving her a full-blown smile. No one would ever compare it to All Might's grin, but Keira would gladly take it over the top ranked hero's any day.

"We have 10 months okay? 10 months for you to train and study hard and I'll be there every step of the way. We're getting you into that hero course okay? "

Keira closed her eyes tightly, keeping the little tears that had threatened to break loose at bay. Nodding her head sharply, she couldn't help but wrap her arms around her brother, holding him just as tightly as she did her hero dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

"-and what do you do if they flood the exams"

"Get to high ground as quickly as possible"

"-And if they do endurance runs "

"Start off slow and pace myself"

"and what do you do if they blow all of you sky high- "

Keira looked at the twins. Their arms were crossed across their chest and Shio was nodding like his brother's words were the wisest things he had ever heard. She couldn't help but snort in amusement before going back to eating her breakfast.

"I'm pretty sure they're not going to blow their future students up, Koshou," she said around a mouthful of the sugary cereal.

Their arms unfolded, palms slamming onto the wooden table as Koshou widened his eyes comically, "You never know! Heroes are getting stronger each year! They are probably blowing all the weak heroes up so only the super strong ones can graduate"

She raised an eyebrow at his insistent yells, "That or you know, they train super hard so that villains don't take over the world."

"Well that's just dumb, blowing up the weak seems like a much more practical option," They sat back in their chair, a pout on both of their faces. Koshou brought a cup of coffee up to his face, sulking as he took a sip while Shio put his chin in his own hand, eyes downcast in disappointment.

Today was the day, February 27th. The past 10 months had been extremely chaotic, especially considering where they lived and who they associated with. However even with all the neighbourhood distractions, School issues and intense training, Keira felt ready for the entrance exams. Even if she wanted to throw up everything she had eaten from the last 24 hours.

Thankfully she had her family to thank for her lack of being sick. Everyone had crowded around in the bar the morning of, and if they weren't there to send her off, they had assured her they would be there when she got back. The twins had bustled in early, rattling off different scenarios that could happen during the exams and what to do in the situation. Masahiro had walked in, one hand holding his skull-topped cane and the other holding the hand of a young white-haired boy. They had made their way to the table Keira was eating at and hadn't moved since; Masahiro seeming content to listen to the chaos in the bar, and the young boy pulling out drawing supplies. Two other figures had walked in after them, an average looking guy with long brown hair pulled into a low ponytail and the other figure covered head to toe in a black skin-tight material. They had sent a wave Keira's way before making themselves comfortable at the bar, talking and laughing with Nick as he made them coffees.

"Alright leave her alone, you cretins. She going to be late if you keep prattling on about unbelievable scenarios, so let her eat"

Keira sent Masahiro a grateful smile, spooning another heap of cereal into her mouth. A small hand pats her arm and she flicked her eyes down to the young boy sitting next to her. He gave a small nod to his drawing before sliding towards her. A gruesome depiction of Keira standing victorious over a pile of bodies made her raise her eyebrows and as crudely drawn as it was, she could definitely make out that they were all decapitated.

"another addition to the wall?"

The boy gave a nod and Keira smiled down at him before scoffing down the rest of her food. Pushing back from the table, she reached down to pick up both the quiet boy and the paper and walked over to the drawing clad wall.

Small hands reached up and pinned the new drawing over an older one. As they stood and admired the gruesome wall, someone else joined their viewing party and Keira looked up at her colossal brother.

"Nearly time to go, want a lift?"

"No, that's ok. I should be good to walk, I'll take Yasu with me and drop him off at his route on the way," She placed the boy in question back on his feet, his hands coming to grasp the side of her sweatpants clad leg. She knelt to his level and placed a hand on his stark white head.

"Wait here for me okay? I'm just gonna get my stuff and I'll be back down"

Yasu pat against her shoulder before padding his way back over to the table, Masahiro lending a hand to help him onto one of the chairs before they started muttering to one another. Patting her brother's arm on the way, she bounded up the stairs to their apartment. It was a relatively small area, the same size as the bar below but it was enough for them. They both got their own room, and thankfully they liked the same video games so sharing a tv wasn't a hassle, however, Nick always hogged the one bathroom they had and always used up the shampoo. Then again, she found ways to get him back. He never looked prettier with bright orange skin.

Bursting into her room, she made her way over to her bed where her shoulder bag lay on her black covers. She had already stuffed all the necessities in there, as well as an extra set of clothes and all the paperwork needed to register for the entrance exams. Making sure everything was in there, she shed her sweatpants and tank top before putting on the clothes Mayu-san had made her.

Mayu-san's quirk definitely came in handy, especially with how fast Keira went through clothes, however, Mayu-san had a penchant for fashion, so Keira always looked like she stepped off the runway. It made her a little uncomfortable at first, but Mayu-san was aggressively insistent, so Keira learned to live with it. Stepping back, she admired the black wetsuit looking material that hit the middle of her calves and just below her elbow. Mayu-san always did have a way with fabrics and the material was incredible; breathable and easy to move in. Keira paired the sporting onesie with a pair of white breezy shorts and a sleeveless sporting jacket, hiding how tightly the material clung to her body, before tying her sneakers on.

She looked at herself in the mirror, amber eyes catching her own. She could literally see the trepidation and anxiety in them and had to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. Today was the day. She would be walking through the gates of UA high in under two hours' time. She would be registering to be a student for the hero course, sitting down for the introduction presentation and then she would be competing with a bunch of different kids from different schools for the highly coveted position of being a UA student. Keira rubbed her sweating palms against her bouncing legs.

"You can do this idiot," she whispered to herself ", you have just as much of a chance as any of those other kids, even if you did get expelled"

That would probably be the only problem she would run into. The only way you could register for the entrance exam was with the recommendation from your school or with the recommendation from a pro-hero. Nick said he would sort something out, and honestly, she didn't want to think about what she would do if they didn't take her, so she put all her hope and trust into Nicks plan.

Steeling herself, Keira nodded to her mirror reflection and jumped up from her bed. She snatched her bag up and threw it across her shoulder, marching out of her room and skipping down the stairs to the bar. She had to stop for a moment to gather her emotions as everyone's face looked up at her and smiled.

No, she did know what she would do if UA didn't take her. She would stay here with her family, live life and better herself. UA wasn't the only school either, and if the hero track didn't pan out, she always loved kids so maybe teaching would be fun.

Having a bit more pep in her step, she skipped down the last couple of steps. Nick met her at the end with a smile before reaching out and putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Alright now, when you get there head straight to reception and –

"Head to the office, give them the forms and then go to the meetup point for the exam," Keira laughed at Nick's playful scowl, "Don't worry Nick, I've been thinking about this for the past 8 months"

Nick sighed and released one of her shoulders, using his other hand to steer her towards the bar, "I know, I know. I just don't want them to hassle you over the expulsion"

Keira scowled, her eyes flashing before narrowing in frustration, "It wasn't my fault anyway"

"We know that," Nick said with a calm tone, flicking her forehead, "but those forms will vouch for you okay? So, don't forget"

Rubbing the red spot on her forehead, she nodded in confirmation. Nick looked at the messy haired girl in front of him before smiling and pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you Keira, you're going to ace this exam," Keira smiled into the hug, even if her spine felt like it was going to break in two. Her brother always had a way of making her feel like she was going to achieve more than she thought was capable, and especially for today, it was dutifully needed.

"Alright, alright, stop hogging her and pass her over,"

Keira laughed and pulled away from her brother's hug and walked over to the two men sitting at the bar. The long-haired man was looking at the siblings with a smirk on his face, fingers casually flicking a coin and catching it repeatably.

"Shit, today's the day huh," The man said as she reached their seats, "seems like yesterday you were just a little runt clawin' at my legs. Time flies, don't it Princess."

Keira scoffed, pushing the guy's shoulder, causing him to grasp the edge of the bar to keep himself from falling, "Keep calling me Princess and I'll show you what these claws can do now"

The man threw his head back in loud laughter as he righted himself, flicking the coin in the air and catching it without looking. He stared at Keira with a smirk, chin in his palm and the other rolling the golden coin across his knuckles.

"You can try, but I've been flipping this coin religiously all day and I'm getting nothing but heads. Now come here so some of this luck can rub off on you"

She embraces the man in front of her as he stood up. He stood taller today, must be having a good luck day, so he easily dwarfed her small stature. He pressed his cheek into her hair and Keira wound her arms tighter.

"You're gonna do great kid, don't need the old man's quirk to know that"

"Thanks, Kichirou" Keira murmured out, looking up with a smile as he released her. Looking past Kichirou as he sat back down, Keira waved at the other man.

He made for a pretty weird sight, clad head to toe in the same black material that Keira wore under her clothes, however, his covered his feet and his hands. Over the top he wore a loose set of shorts and a giant hoodie, however, the strangest part was the simple gas mask on his face. It covered the whole of his head, locking around the neck of the wetsuit material with a mechanical collar. The lens around his eyes was the only way anyone could see that there was a person inside all the clothing and material. He used to not have the lens in the mask, saying something about variables, but after one too many poles to the face, he decided it was a variable worth noting.

"I'd give you a good luck hug, but I don't want to get you sick before your exam," His voice was slightly muffled behind the mask and Keira couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to fist bump his own fabric clad hand.

Kichirou looked at the duo, leaning backward as they fist bumped in front of him. Turning his attention to the masked man, he cocked an eyebrow in interest, "What's it today?"

The man hummed behind the mask, fiddling with the fabric on his fingers, "I'm not actually a hundred percent certain. The drugs I'm testing out for Hotaru-san cause memory loss, so I've forgotten what I was testing myself, hence the suit today. Although I coughed up blood this morning, so it could really be anything"

Kichirou pulled a face in disgust, inching slightly away from his companion, "gross"

Keira punched his arm, Kichirou recoiling, nose scrunched up in mock pain. Snickering, she turned back to the other man with a little smile.

"Don't worry about it Takara, I'll be back later so it's not like I won't see you then" The man in question gave a nod, eyes curling up with what she assumed was a smile behind his mask.

The trio was rudely interrupted when a pair of arms came up behind her, wrapped around her waist and lifted her into the air. Her breath rushed out of her in one huge whoosh, her legs dangling as whoever was carrying her carted her over to one of the booths.

Setting her down, she took a breath of relief staring at the Twins in disbelief. They leaned against the table of the booth, smug smiles on their faces and she simply rolled her eyes. They outstretched their arms, gesturing with their hands for her to come forward and she snickered, stepping into their hug.

"You'll be fine," Shio mumbled into one of her ears, "the moment they look at you, they'll snap you up"

"And if they don't, "Koshou chimed as they pulled back to look at each other, giving a cheeky smile in unison, "you can always have a spot in our super awesome villain group"

Keira laughed aloud at this, shaking her head in fondness, "thanks guys, I'll definitely take you up on that if things don't go to plan"

"You better, we don't extend the offer to everyone!"

They gave her a final last hug, all three of them snickering, before she wandered back over to the table Masahiro and Yasu were sitting at. Yasu seemed to be murmuring something to him quietly, the old man nodding with a contemplative smile. Masahiro muttered a low 'don't worry' to the younger boy before the two of them looked up at Keira as she approached.

"Ready to go Yasu?"

The young boy nodded, starting to gather up all his drawing stuff and putting them in his bag. As he was doing this, Masahiro reached out to grasp Keira's hand, tugging her to his side. He gave her a short smile as knelt next to him.

"Gonna wish me luck Oji-san"

He let out a laugh, shaking his head slightly at her cheeky tone, "I can feel the future, little one. I don't need to wish you luck. This exam will be tough, but the outcome is great, and your future is bright" He had a wistful tone, usually something that only came out when he was actively using his quirk. He was also staring off into the distance, just over her shoulders although she couldn't see his eyes thanks to the dark glasses covering his eyes.

"Watch out their Oji-san," she said, slightly louder to break him out of the trance. He looked back to the girl, laughing softly, "I might have to start paying you for the readings"

Masahiro pat her shoulder as she stood, walking to his side to help Yasu put his backpack on, "if that was the case, that you would be in a lot of debt by now"

Keira rolled her eyes with a smirk before putting a hand on her hip, "will I see you when I get back?"

"Of course, it has been a while since us ex-cons have had something to celebrate" He replied with a grin, gold glinting under the lights. A small hand grasped her own, tugging a little to get her attention, and Yasu looks up at Keira blankly with white eyes.

"Oka-san says that if we don't leave now, we will be late," Yasu reached out with his left hand, grasping at something that Keira couldn't see.

"Oh thanks, Yasu-kun," looking to Yasu's left, she gave a smile to the air in front of her, "Don't worry Shinju-san, we are leaving now"

Yasu gave a nod before starting to talk to the side, muttering under his breath with subtle light to his eyes. Keira pats Masahiro's shoulder one last time before making her way over to her brother. He was talking with Kichirou, laughing as the other man blushed over something, waving his hands in a flustered manner. Still snickering, he looked up as Keira walked up to him, bag hanging over one shoulder and an excited jump in her step.

"Time to go?"

"Yup, once I get back, you won't be the only hero in the family," she started bouncing on the balls of her feet, punching lightly at her brother who dodged each one of her mock punches. Ducking under one, Nick reached out and started ruffling her already messy hair. Keira squawked in protest, batting at his hands.

"I can see the nerves on your face idiot, don't be nervous. You got this. Just give it your all and remember – "Reaching ouch, he grasped the sides of her face, squeezing her cheeks together before ducking down and giving her a serious expression.

"That quirk is yours. If you are comfortable or you need it, you use it. You are not a monster, no matter what those voices say" His voice was strong as he said it, his brows pulled into a determined furrow. His eyes didn't leave hers, trying to get his point across as much as he could without launching into a rant like he usually did.

Keira's eyes watered slightly before she nodded, breathing in deeply before smiling to reassure her protective brother. Nick gave his own small grin, before throwing an arm around her shoulders to walk her to the door. Reaching out a hand to hold Yasu's, Keira and the pale boy walked out of the bar. Waving goodbye over their shoulders as they walked further on down the street, Keira beamed at the goodbyes and good lucks that were shouted out after them. As they walked down the street, Keira was met with a few good luck wishes from the people she knew, and many sneers from others who knew where she was going. The whole community knew that the girl wanted to be a hero, and many were hesitant in accepting that, not knowing when she would come down and take them out of their homes if they fell off the reformation bandwagon. She knew she was walking a thin line between neighbour and enemy, but as the pair walked through the streets, no one bothered her, simply staying out of her way.

Yasu split his attention between muttering to his mother and talking to Keira. She was uneasy around the boy when she was first introduced, unsure who he was talking to when he muttered to thin air. Over the years, especially after she started receiving the drawings, she had gotten used to the boy's quirk and simply hummed along to the conversation she could only hear part of.

The wind seemed to pick up as they neared closer to the edge of a park, the tree's rustling in the wind and leaves seeming to brush against her cheeks as they fell. They neared to a stop and Keira crouched in front of Yasu.

"Alright Yasu-kun, this is your stop," She reached out to rub a smudge of colour off his cheek, the paint standing out against his pale skin. He wrinkled his nose at the contact but didn't push her away, simply rubbing his cheek with the sleeve of his jumper after she had pulled away.

"Are you going to come back to _Dasoku_ later on?"

Yasu nodded slightly, pulling his backpack a little higher before reaching out to grasp the air at both of his sides.

"Cool! When I get back, I'll make you whatever you want. Shinju-sand and Taichi-san, you're always welcome at the bar too so don't be strangers"

The tree's behind them resulted, blowing wind through her hair. She smiled up at the air beside Yasu before he got her attention, motioning for Keira to come closer so he could whisper something to her.

"Oka-san says good luck, she said 'you will do great'," Keira couldn't help but fluster at the lady's words and smiled at the boy, "Oto-san says that he'll walk you to the gates of the school as well"

Keira frowned, scrunching her brows up at the little boy, "He doesn't have too. He hasn't seen you all morning"

Yasu shrugged his shoulders, letting go of one of his parent's hands to rub at his eyes. They usually got a bit dry during the day, especially when he forgot to blink, and ended up become irritated and itchy.

"He doesn't mind. He says it not every day that you get to go to hero school"

Keira sighed in acceptance, smiling softly at the boy's wide eyes. They usually all had a family walk in the mornings, either going around the park once or multiple times a day. Keira had joined in a handful of times at the family's insistence and she was surprised to find that she liked the peacefulness of it. She usually zoned out as Yasu talked to his parents about what he was up to or what he had done the day before however, Yasu's parents loved to ask the girl questions whether it be about what she up to, how school was going and recently about her goal of being a hero. She was flattered to see how invested they were in her life, even if she couldn't talk or see them. Yasu never minded being a translator and found the conversations just as interesting as his parents.

"Well, you're sure Taichi-san, I would be happy to have your company." Yasu nodded before turning to his side, his hair moving as if someone was ruffling it. A cold breeze made Keira shiver, her body feeling like it was drenched in cold water. When Shinju had first initiated affection with Keira, she had reacted aggressively, jumping back and looking around with fright. She had later apologized profusely to Shinju and had come to accept and later love the peculiar hugs. The feeling disappeared soon after and Keira leaned down to hug Yasu goodbye

"Okay, I'm off, I'll see you tonight at _Dasoku_ alright?"

Keira walked away, waving goodbye to the young boy as he turned and started walking in the opposite direction, a hand grasping the air. Humming and turning around, Keira shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. It was such a nice day; the air was still, the sun was out, and birds were probably chirping somewhere. The heat felt good on her skin, the cold from Shinju's hug being replaced by the familiar heat that warmed her up enough to be thankful for wearing a short-sleeved jacket. Cocking her head to the side of her body that was a few degrees colder than the rest of her, she murmured softly to her invisible companion.

"Thanks for walking with me Taichi-san. To be honest, I'm super nervous which isn't great for my predicament"

A harsh, short breeze pushed her hair from the back, causing the longer strands to fall over her eyes and into her mouth. Spitting and spluttering, she pulled the hair away from her face and mockingly glared to her side,

"Bah! I would've stayed in bed longer if I wanted messier hair Taichi-san, But I know what you're saying. Don't worry about it and all that"

She looked up at the blue sky, sighing at the clouds that hung in the sky. She couldn't crush the butterflies in her stomach, and she felt like she was going to throw up but so many people were proud of her and knew that she was going to do well. Even Masahiro had said he had a good feeling about today! She needed to stop doubting herself and believe in her abilities like her family did.

"You're right, you all are! Everything will be fine. I'll do the exam and get into the hero course. Ill prove to them I'm not a monster and laugh in their face when they see how well I'm doing!"

Wind chimes rang out as they walked past someone's balcony. She giggled at the sight of the owner's befuddled face, knowing the forecast had said nothing about choppy winds today. She skipped forward, her face stretching into a wild smile, an excited jump in her step. Raising her hands to hold the back of her head, she gave an amused laugh as a thought occurred to her,

"Plus, if I don't get in, Shio and Koshou said they had a spot in their super awesome villain team for me, and who can refuse such an esteemed position!"


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Keira walked for half an hour, leaving the rough neighborhood and wandering more civilian infested streets. She cringed as different people bumped into her, either distracted by their phones or their companions and she quickly made the decision to take the longer, more secluded route. Her nerves were on high alert thanks to the exam she was about to take, and it caused her to tense every time a sound rang out or someone ran into her. She distracted herself as much as she could by talking, albeit one-sided, to Yasu's dad or fiddling with her phone, but the butterflies in her stomach intensified as she got closer and closer to UA. Her palms started to sweat as she saw the gates and she swore under her breath, a harsh wind pushing the back of her head to which she apologized before rubbing her hands against her white sports shorts.

"Thanks for walking me Taichi-san," The right side of her shoulder grew cold and she smiled softly, "I guess I'll see you later"

After saying a quick goodbye to her invisible companion, Keira started walking through the gates of UA. The school building towered over her and she couldn't help but marvel at everything as she walked through, trying to take in as much as possible. She honestly never thought she would get the chance to do this, even with all the pushing from her family and the training. But here she was, on UA school grounds, gawking at the buildings and the trees, and in turn, it seemed, being gawked at by other students.

Keira blushed as a few kids from different schools glanced her way, sneering at her sports gear and whispering to their friends. She quickened her pace, smoothing her palms against her pants before pulling her bag higher up her shoulder. A sign stood out, resting on an easel with big letters reading "EXAM SIGN INS".

Keira was a little embarrassed to admit that she practically sprinted away from the gawking students and made her way towards the receptionist building. Pushing the door open, she stared at the bare office room. Chairs were set up against the wall, stacked on top of each other, with a coffee table in front of them, hero magazines stacked half hazard on top of each other. A huge article stood out to her and she tilted her head to read the tabloid headings about Ms. Mountain.

"Hey there! Welcome to the UA entrance exams!"

She blushed in embarrassment over being caught reading the trashy magazine, head snapping up to stare at the lady occupying the office desk in front of her. The lady had light orange hair that was pulled up into a high pony, the tail of it pulled over a bare shoulder. Her head was resting on her hands which were encased in finger gloves that reached her elbows, steel plates shining under the artificial lights protecting the outer area of her forearms. She seemed to be wearing an armored bodice that went up high on her neck however the rest of the woman was concealed by the office desk.

The lady gestured Keira forward with her free hand, giving the girl a wide grin, "I assume you're here to put register your forms?"

Keira jumped, rushing forward with a warm face and a flustered step, "Oh yeah, sorry, I have those here"

Standing in front of the desk she could see the ladies face clearly. Her green eyes were staring at Keira with what seemed like amusement, finding the flustered girl amusing to watch. Keira steeled herself, taking a deep breath to calm her face before reaching into her bag to pull out her registration forms. She passed them over to the redhead almost apprehensively, already predicting the questions that would come however she squared her shoulders, ready to fight for her place.

The lady took them, reading over them with a sharp eye however towards the end her brows furrowed. Looking up at a nervous Keira, she was met with a look of determination and quickly softened her expression, becoming less accusatory.

"This says you were expelled from your school 8 months ago? You do know we can't take in students without the recommendation from your school?"

Keira winced at her words, before nodding quickly and reaching into her bag for the yellow envelope her brother had given to her the previous night. He had spent the night handwriting who knows what before giving it to her with a strong word to not lose it.

"Uhm, yeah, I do know but that's why I have this as well,"

She quickly handed over the envelope and the lady took it, looking at Keira with sudden sharp eyes, almost as if assessing her. She flicked open the seal and pulled the letter out, reading over it with analysing eyes that seemed to widen the more she read. Her eyes constantly flickered back and forth between what she was reading and the fidgeting girl in front of her. Making a surprised sound as she finished reading, she placed the document next to Keira's registration form and looked up. Keira's eyes quickly snapped down to her sneakers, trying to pretend that she wasn't just staring intently at the woman in front of her.

"you're pretty lucky that I'm the one working the desk this year. Not many people know who Hercules is, especially since he isn't from Japan"

Keira looked up from where she was scuffing her trainers on the ground, a little ball of hope settling in her stomach. She watched as the lady wrote something down on both pieces of paperwork, taking a big stamp to both pages before stapling them together and folding them up.

"The way these exams work is that you are either recommended by your school or a pro-hero. If you aren't, well, you can't take the exam. However, some heroes retire, an outstanding feat in our line of work, but that doesn't make them obsolete. I'll make sure everyone knows that you'll be right to take the exams"

Keira's eye widened through the lady's lecture, watching as she shoved her paperwork into a tray before smiling at her. Keira couldn't help but smile back, feeling rapid relief spread throughout her body. She started bowing, her head spinning at the number of times she did the action. The lady laughed at the over-exuberant girl, who snapped up at the sound and ran her hands through her messy hair.

"Thank you so much - uhm?"

"Call me Koharu"

"Thank you so much Koharu-sensei! Seriously!"

The lady, Koharu, waved her off, sending her away with a shout of good luck. Keira walked out of the office building feeling like she was walking on cloud nine. The hardest bit, in Nick's books anyway, was over. She was registered, she would be participating in the exams.

She paused on her way over to the auditorium, her stomach sinking and her nerves rushing back full force,

She was participating in the exams.

"Oh shit", she whispered to herself.

After a few moments of momentary panic, she quickly collected herself, walking briskly towards the auditorium. She was able to ignore the stares this time, her mind racing a mile a minute trying to remember the words of advice she had been given and the training she had subjected herself to, and it wasn't long before she was standing before a seating map, each section listing off different schools. She quickly found where all the hero recommended students were sitting and filed in, heading straight to the assigned area and finding a seat towards the back.

She was able to see everything quite clearly, especially with her sight, so she distracted herself by watching as all different students filed in. Her nerves were going haywire making her skin feel itchy from the feeling of so many people around her. While all the school sections were filling up quickly, the seats around her remained empty, with only a couple of teens coming to sit around her, sparing her, thankfully, nervous looks reminiscent of her own.

It wasn't long before the auditorium was full, save for her own section and the large room was filled with excited and nervous chatter. A bout of tingles niggled at the side of her head, and she spared a glance to where an average looking kid sat, staring openly at her, specifically the choppy black locks that looked more like a bird's nest than actual hair. Blushing under the gaze she sent a weak glare before facing forward, slouching in her chair, smoothing down the longest locks that hung beside her face.

Movement on the stage at the end of the seats got her attention. Her eyes widened as she watched the Hero Present Mic situate himself at the podium. His hair was slicked up, probably half his own height, and a set of speakers sat around his neck. Keira furrowed her brows in confusion, wondering why he wore sunglasses inside when there was hardly any light inside much less the sun.

"Welcome to today's live performance! Everybody say "hey"! "His voice was so loud, resonating throughout the whole room. Keira almost felt bad for the Hero, as he waited frozen for a response but only got silence from the kids.

"Well, that's cool, my examinee listeners! I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical! Are you ready?! YEAH!"

More silence met his exuberant yells, and Keira couldn't help but duck her head into her arms trying to muffle her amused snickers. A soft muttering sound reached her ears however before she could see who it was, Present Mic gathered their attention again.

"This is how the test will go, my listeners!" Keira propped her head back up, listening in to the exam rules, "You'll be experiencing ten-minute-long "mock cityscape maneuvers"! Bring along whatever you want! After this presentation, you'll each head to your assigned testing location! That's so kids from the same middle school can't help each other out. Yeah? O.K?!"

Not like she had any classmates to team up with anyway, she thought bitterly playing with edges of the paper in front of her, or friends for that matter.

"And why consecutive I.D numbers are assigned to different locations. Each site is filled with three kinds of faux villains. Points are awarded for defeating each according to their respective difficulty levels. Use your quirks to disable these faux villains… and earn points! That's your goal, listeners! Of course, playing the antihero and attack other examines is prohibited. "

"May I ask a question?!" Her eyes flashed over to the tall student standing up from his seat. He had blue hair and glasses, looking pretty put together for a teenager, and his posture was impeccable! Mayu-san would be impressed; even Keira couldn't stand up that straight.

"There appear to be no fewer than four varieties of faux villains on this handout!" Keira quirked a brow at that, she hadn't even noticed, too distracted by everything around her, "such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for U.A, Japan's top Academy! We're all here today in the hopes of being molded into model heroes!"

The boy turned quickly into her general direction and she nearly had a heart attack before he pointed at a green haired kid. The boy seemed to stiffen at the sudden attention,

"And, you, with the curly hair! You've been muttering this whole time… it's distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately!"

The boy ducked down, covering his mouth with his hands after muttering a soft apology. Keira balked, suddenly very glad that the stricter teen didn't overhear her snickering with his crazy hearing.

"Alright, alright," Present Mic broke up the tension between the students with pacifying hand gestures, "Examinee 7111, nice catch. Thanks! But the fourth faux villain variety gets you zero points! He's more of an obstacle! Have you all played Super Mario brothers?!"

Her head perked up at the familiar game. Her brother had bought it when he was a kid, the first of many, many games in their collection.

"It's kind of like a Thwomp! Only one at each site! A 'gimmick' that'll rampage around in close quarters!"

The blue-haired boy gave a hum of agreement, "got it… so, it's like a stage gimmick to be avoided. Thank you, sir, I apologize for the interruption" The boy sat down with a bow.

Present Mic spread his hands out at his sides, shaking them in an exaggerated gesture, "that's all from me! I'll leave my listeners without school motto. The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said … "true heroism consists of being superior to the ills of life" PLUS ULTRA! BREAK A LEG EVERYONE!"

Keira couldn't help but squirm in her seat, excitement flooding her body at the familiar lines. She watched as everyone shuffled out of the auditorium, presumably to go get changed out of their school uniforms, however, she didn't have a school uniform to change out of so instead, she waited until the last couple of students filed out before leaving herself.

Looking down at her handout and finding what arena she was designated for, she quickly dropped her bags off in the female locker room, carefully avoiding the suspicious glances sent her way, and bounded over to the arena entrance.

Keira started stretching out her body, following the routine her brother had taught her and watched as more kids started to crowd the entrance. Standing around with everyone else, she was surprised at the number of kids that were competing, and she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. A girl close to her glanced over as Keira took a few deep breaths, furrowing her brows, and behind her, a boy glanced over, copying her stretching gestures. Keira rolled her eyes, before pulling out a couple of bobby pins from her pocket and pinned the longer strands of hair away from her face. She needed to concentrate, especially considering how many kids she would be vers-

"And Begin!"

Wait, what?

"What's wrong? The tests started! Run! Run! THE DIE IS CAST!"

Keira stumbled as the bodies around her pushed off the ground at the same time, all of them moving as one to enter to arena. Everyone seemed so determined, using their quirks and physical strength to move forward, attacking the robots that rushed out left, right and centre.

Keira was taken along for the ride, protesting sharply before stopping all together. A couple of kids shouted their protests at the girl in the way, but she paid them no mine, instead assessing the situation around her. They were in a town setting, something she was familiar with, and she knew that most people would rush towards the centre of the arena, trying to get as many points as possible. Instead, Keira ducked down on the empty streets to her left, jogging away from the conflict and towards a more secluded area. She passed different buildings and shop fronts, all of them empty, and headed towards a high rise heavy area. As she headed deeper into the area, the higher the towers rose and the denser they became packed. Frowning at the weird silence around her, she ducked around the corner, coming face to face with a robotic monster.

"Shit!" The robot launched itself towards her and Keira's eyes widened, her instincts taking over and launching her away. She crouched into the ground, sliding backwards from the force of her jump, her fingers stinging as they started to sharpen, tearing into the ground and creating divots in the rubble. The robot was making mechanical sounds, whirling its claw-like hands at her. Keira snarled in response, her eyes narrowing at the blatant threat.

She bounded towards the robot, her feet thudding against the ground. The robot, in turn, scuttled towards her, however, she was faster. Planting her feet on the ground and bracing her legs, she jumped high, fingers outstretched to grab the robots head. Using both hands, she dug her hands into the soft spot underneath its head and dug into the circuits with her claws. Planting her feet against its body and ducking her head under a frantic sweep of its own mechanical claw, she yanked with her whole body, pushing against her feet. Giving the head a few more harsh yanks, it popped off and the robot went still.

Jumping off with her prize in hand, she watched as the mechanical monster fell to the ground, collapsing in to pile of metal rubble. Dropping the head, she winced as a sharp pain came from her arm. Looking down she noticed a large gash, bleeding slightly. The robot must've gotten in a shot when it was waving its claws around.

She needed to wrap it up. Even if they said medical attention would be received afterwards, she couldn't just walk around with an open wound. Looking down at her sports vest, she sent a mental apology to Mayu-san before ripping around the hem with her claws, before tying it tightly around the wound.

Just as she had finished making sure it was tight and tying the fabric off, she heard another bout of scuttling and her head snapped up, just in time to watch as another robot came around the corner, locking onto her position.

Letting out another monstrous snarl, Keira forgot about the stinging from her arm and readied herself to attack the exam robot.

5 minutes had passed, and she made quick work of the robots, dismantling one after the other as they drew closer and closer. The more she took on the more she grew hopeful that she would pass the exams. Her nerves were settled, and she lost herself in the motions of the fight, taking the robots down. She could hear the conflict towards the centre of the arena and she would sometimes see another person attack the monsters, but she didn't stay around long. Always moving further away.

Her strategy coming in was to go where the others weren't. Hopefully, then there would be more monsters to take down, and less worry about hurting others if they accidentally got caught in the crosshairs.

Plus, if her quirk went haywire then no one would see the monster.

Just as she jumped over the robot that she had taken down, a huge tremble sent the ground shaking, causing her to stumble the landing and fall to the ground. A huge crash caused her to duck her head instinctively, and she looked up cautiously as the top of a building crashed to the ground, sending dust and glass everywhere. Her eyes widened as she watched as the Phase 4 robot came around the corner. It was massive, all metal joints and mechanical claws, making an alarming siren sound that cause Keira to wince. It seemed to be having trouble movie, falling around and using its arms and tail to destroy the high-rise buildings.

Keira quickly stumbled to her feet, her knees stinging from the impact. She had to get away, there was no way she would be able to take it down, not without activating her quirk. She whirled around, ready to escape but before she could even take a step, an explosion went off on the building next to her, causing it to come crashing down. She let out a short scream and dove away, the rubble barely missing her. These things should not be shooting explosives!

"Fuck!" She rolled to the side, gravel digging into her sides as a mechanical claw crashed next to her. Was this thing trying to kill her? In an exam! It made no sense.

She shot to her feet, launching away to the side to get to one of the side streets, however, they were all blocked off, either being fake alleyways or leading to robot infested streets, too many to take on by herself. Turning around at a huge crashing sound, she yelped as she had to cross her arms over her face, covering herself as a dust cloud exploded in front of her. A huge weight smacked across her side and she was knocked far away, her head banging against the pavement and scrapes tearing at her clothes and skin.

Keira tried to open her eyes, her lids heavy and feeling as if she had been asleep for eons. Her vision was blurry, colors seeming to blend together, and her leg was radiating with pain causing her to let out a yelp of pain. Rubbing her eyes with a lazy arm, her head flopped to the side as she noticed a huge piece of stone on her leg, effectively trapping her and from what it felt like, breaking her bones. She tried to push against the rock but ger vision foggy and her mind not much better. She started to breathe heavily, air coming out in short hurried pants and she could feel heat start to spread from inside her body, steam rising into the air. Where were the heroes? Why weren't why coming to help her? She was going to die! She needs to get up! GET UP! GET UP KEIRA!

She closed her eyes momentarily, feeling flush and too hot, she wanted to be sick, her stomach was churning, however, the pain in her leg was beginning to numb and when she opened her eyes, she could see perfectly. Everything was black and white but that didn't matter, not with the giant robot ready to step on her. A monstrous snarl built up in her throat and she gave a final push on the rock, the stone falling away easily with her newfound strength. She felt a thousand feelings at once; pain, fright, hurt, nerves, panic, anger. She stood quickly and righted herself on all fours, looking up at the robot that had hurt her, before launching herself forward with a monstrous howl.

She blacked out at that point, letting her instincts take over, the sight of the monster up close and personal was too much, so were the claws tearing at the metal and ripping it to shreds. She could hear Present Mics voice in the background as well as a monstrous howl, but she reverted back into the darkness before thinking too much about it.

The next time she became lucid, she seemed to be tearing the fake buildings apart, the corpse of the metal robot laying on the ground behind her, its chest torn to pieces. She let out snarls and howls, her throat straining from the sound, however, a sound of moving rubble distracted her. Thinking it was a robot she readied herself to launch at the object but was instead met with the sight of an older man, dressed in black with a white scarf that seemed to float in the air alongside his hair. His eyes were staring directly into hers, and she felt her body weaken. Her muscles started to get tired and she stumbled on jelly legs before collapsing on the ground.

The man walked up to her, eyes never leaving hers. She felt her bones start to break and restructure, the pain was a jarring experience no matter how many times she had experienced it. The man's eyes stayed on hers and she felt like she couldn't look away. Feeling the heat simmer down, pulling away from the surface of her skin, Keira involuntarily let out a whine, sounding more human than animal and the last thing she felt before blacking out was something covering her naked body.

The next time Keira woke up, she was greeted by bright white lights. Her eyes were extremely sensitive, and she winced as her head pounded. Turning to the side, she moaned in pain before opening them again. A small wrinkled face greeted her, way too close for comfort and she yelped in fright, falling off the bed with surprise. She lay on the cold tiles, groaning in pain and her body throbbing like she had run for hours without stopping. She felt like her muscles were contracting, growing larger and then shrinking, like they weren't used to being in her body.

The old lady padded around the hospital bed, her syringe cane tapping against the tiles. Keira turned her head lazily to face her small form, wincing at the realization that yes this was Recovery Girl and that yes, she did transform during the exam and that, no, it wasn't a dream. Pulling her arms behind herself, she pulled herself up, taking a deep breath at the pull of her muscles.

"That's quite a quirk you have there," Keira groaned in despair, her head falling to lean against her chest. The older lady padded forward, inspecting Keira's body as she went, "transformative quirks are not so common, especially to your extent"

Keira stretched herself out on the floor, her bones aching, and she noticed that she was sitting in her extra set of clothes. Mayu-san was going to kill her for tearing up another set of clothes, especially considering how soon it was since she last wrecked an outfit. Keira slowly pulled herself up, using the bed to brace herself. Her legs wobbled a bit before she righted herself.

"Your bag is over on the bench. Your phone has been going off a mile a minute. Someone must be worried about you" Taking a deep breath, she sent Recovery girl a smile of gratitude before pacing her way over and digging through the bag, picking out her phone. She scrolled through the many messages, every single one from her brother asking where she was. Checking the time, she took a sharp breath in, noticing her was an hour late. She sent off a quick message in reply to her brother's threat of coming to the school and getting her himself before looking back over to Recovery Girl.

"I'm sorry for any trouble I caused," she bowed low in apology, knowing how destructive she could be when her quirk activated involuntarily.

The older lady shook her head, waving her hand, "don't apologize. The phase 4 robot was released in the wrong area of the exam arena and it was too tightly packed for the robot to move around. We couldn't get through quick enough to help you, although it seemed like you didn't need it in the end"

Keira furrowed her brows before shaking her head. A sharp pain caused her to gasp and send a wave of nausea throughout her body. She grunted, feeling the back of her head and finding the wound gone. But why was there still pain?

"Your quirk is strange," Flickering her eyes back up, she followed Recovery Girl's path to her desk, picking up a file and reading through it, "any injuries caused by the transformation are healed instantly but anything you sustain before or after, stay. I had quite a bit of trouble in another one of the arenas, but I was able to heal some of your injuries before you woke up"

"Thank you so much, Recovery Girl," Keira spoke softly, bowing at the waist again, "I appreciate it"

"That's enough of that," The older lady said, motioning her thanks away, "now I'm sure you must be getting home, "

Keira furrowed her brow in confusion, that's it? They were just going to send her home after all that trouble? "should I talk to someone about well the whole robot incident, or about me transforming or sign something? "

Recovery Girl shook her head, walking towards the door of the infirmary and opening it, "no, no, just head on home. You'll be contacted within the week of your results."

Confused and sore, her head still swimming, she grabbed her bag and walked out. With a short wave, Recovery Girl closed the door with a snap, leaving Keira standing in the hallway with a bewildered face.

She didn't understand? She had basically been told that due to an exam mishap, a phase 4 robot had been set into the wrong area causing her to get gravely injured, judging by the pain in her head and the phantom pain in her leg but to not worry about it? She had transformed into a monster and they weren't going to say anything about it?

She was still so bewildered that she jumped in fright when the door opened again, Recovery Girls face popping out to give her a small smile, "The exit is just down the hall to the left, have a lovely day Dear."

The door closed again, and Keira stared for a few minutes before walking out, following the directions of the school doctor. The corridors were empty and quiet, the bright white lights flashing against the white floors, causing her headache to worsen. She winced, wide-eyed as the corridor walls seemed to start closing in on her, and she quickened her pace, sprinting for the exit as best she could. Her feet were practically thudding against the floor, and she pushed open the exit doors with more force than necessary as they slammed against the walls. Her eyesight was assaulted by the bright sun and spots danced in her vision. Leaning one hand against the door frame, Keira squinted and looked down to the ground, trying to avoid the sunlight as much as possible.

Oh no, she thought to herself, her eyes squeezing shut in panic, she had fucked up. Her breath quickened as what she had done in the exams started to flood her thoughts. She had screwed up, she transformed, her family was right, she was a monster! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

She didn't even notice she had started to hyperventilate before her legs started to tremble, and she staggered to sit on the stairs. Her head fell into her hands, her eyes squeezing tightly to stop the dancing lights. Her heart felt like it was jumping a mile a minute, her body not being able to decide whether it was too hot or too cold. Her stomach churned uncomfortably and the pain in her leg and her head didn't help matters either.

'I _t's okay, deep breaths'_ Her brothers voice cut through her own, the calm tone causing her to breathe in sharply, _'you're doing fine, deep breathes, there we go'_

She remembered the breathing tips that they had gone through together, breathing in deeply for a few seconds and then exhaling out, her heart started to calm down, and her palms didn't seem to be so sticky. The pain in her leg and head were still there, but the stomach aching quality of them seemed to numb as her thoughts cleared

"That's it, idiot," she mumbled to herself, "deep breaths"

Taking a few minutes to steel herself and get her breath back, Keira stood up slowly on jelly legs, threw her bag over her shoulder and started to walk out. Stopping at the UA gate, she screwed up her nose and blinked back a few self-deprecating tears before starting her trek home.

The walk home was not as enjoyable as the walk to UA. For one Taichi-san wasn't there to keep her company, and two it had started to drizzle slightly. She tilted her head up into the very light sprinkle, slightly enjoying the rainwater before walking down the empty streets. Time didn't seem to exist for a few moments, no one was walking the streets near her, nothing was making a sound and she was left to her own thoughts, which wasn't helping her mental state in the slightest. The phantom pain radiating from her leg kept rearing its head every few seconds, and even though she knew there was nothing wrong with the appendage, she still found herself checking over the flesh just in case.

It wasn't long before she was staring at the entrance of _Dasoku_ , tension building up in her body for a few seconds before she let them go, not having the energy to hold on to the negative feelings. Her headache had mainly disappeared, and she was pretty sure she didn't have a concussion; however, she knew Nick would have something to say about her self-diagnosis. Hefting her bag higher onto her shoulder, she pushed the door of the bar open and was met with the sight of a full house of ex-cons, outcasts and her family.

Everyone looked up at once with an excited smile, however many of them dropped when they saw her own faces as well as the clothes that she didn't leave in this morning. Keira's eyes traced over everyone's faces before making eye contact with the twins.

Her face twisted into a sarcastic smile, "still got a spot on that supervillain team?"

Despite Keira's somber mood, many of the people that had come, stayed to try and cheer her up. She got many hugs and pats on the back, and even Hotaru-san offered to give her a little ' _something-something_ ' to boost her mood, to which Nick kicked her out for. Keira did let out a little chuckle at that and promised the excited girl that she would see her another day.

Yasu stood by her side the whole night, holding her hand and talking to her in whispered voices. He even gave her a few more drawings that he had been working on, and they weren't even disturbingly graphic. Keira immediately drew them close, smiling down at the happy depictions of herself and Nick as well as Yasu and his parents before putting them in her bag for safe keeping. Eventually, the ghostly boy drifted off to sleep, nestled into her side on one of the booth couches. Although she knew the cold didn't affect him, she wrapped her jumper securely around him, if only to make herself feel better.

Over time, everyone slowly started to shuffle out, moving off to their own homes to sleep. The last few people crowded around the booth her and Yasu were sitting in. Masahiro sat in a wooden chair, something about the soft plush lining of the booths not being the best for his back, and Nick sat across from her with an older lady.

"I shall have to get you back over for tea, Dear girl. I will have to measure you for another body suit" Taking a deep drink of her coffee, Keira smiled softly at the elegant lady across from her. She sat tall, an expensive looking dress draping across her body, the bold green colour contrasting excellently with her pale skin. She had bright red lips, that never seemed to budge no matter what she did or ate, and beautiful diamond earrings that dangled from her earlobes. Everything about her was stunning and put together, even her baldness; a side effect of her quirk.

"Sorry again Mayu-san, I tried to avoid transforming as much as I could"

The lady waved a hand, a large bejewelled ring glinting under the lights, "don't apologize, girl. If anything, I should be thanking you, it has given me a chance to evolve my fabrics and try something new. Soon you won't even have to worry about ripping the clothing apart"

Keira gave her a small smile of gratitude, before putting a hand on Yasu's hair. The boy was deathly still, not moving in the slightest. If Keira didn't know any better, she would think the boy was dead, but she had been around the boy since she was 8 and had gotten over the unnerving sight very early.

"I still can't believe they just let you leave," Nick snarled around his own cup, although this one was filled with some sort of alcohol that he shared with Masahiro, "don't they have some duty of care they need to abide by"

Keira winced, rubbing the back of her head, "I mean they did heal me, I wasn't bleeding out or anything,"

Nick frowned and shook his head, "just because they physically heal you, doesn't mean that your body thinks you're healed. I've been on the end of many healing quirks, Keira, and every time I can still feel the pain, even if the wound isn't there"

Keira gave a small shrug, busying herself by brushing through Yasu's hair with her fingers. Masahiro spared the girl a glance, before reaching forward to pat the hand that she had resting on the table,

"Don't get yourself too down little one, you have a week until your results come in, you never know what they might say" Keira shrugged again, not really wanting to spare any hope that she might've got in.

"Listen to him, Dear, Hiro hasn't been wrong yet, other than that time in France of course," Mayu-san said with a small scowl. Masahiro looked up at that, a cheeky smile lifting the wrinkles in his face, making him appear younger than he was.

"Ooh dear Mayu, I did tell you not to take all the jewels, but you couldn't be happy with what you had,"

"Who could ignore such an enticing gleam, my friend, they were practically begging to be made into something beautiful, not being left to gather dust in some vault"

Keira laughed softly at the conversation between the elderly ex-cons. The two had been friends for many, many years, traveling the world together at some point before coming to Japan. Their stories were things of legends, especially since neither had ever been caught and after their retirement from the villain lifestyle, they had settled down in the neighborhood, living across from each other. At some point, Keira has asked if they were married since they bickered like an old couple, and the two had laughed and laughed, saying something along the lines of not being able to stand each other as friends, much less as spouses.

"How are you feeling though, Dear, I know their healing hero helped mend your wounds, but a person's mentality is much harder to fix" Mayu-san stared at the younger girl with a look that told her she spoke from experience, the space where her eyebrows would've been furrowing in worry.

"I'm okay, I keep feeling some sharp pain in my leg from where it was broken before, but Recovery girl did heal them, so I just have to remind myself it's not broken. Plus, all those breathing techniques really helped with the, uh, panic attack" She winced as her brother let out another displeased scoff at the lack of care she had received after the exam. He wasn't happy when she had told him what went down, and how the phase 4 robot was accidentally placed in the wrong area, endangering not only her but any other student around her. Nick had to excuse himself to calm down, and Keira thought to herself that she might have to do another order for glassware based on the sounds that had come from the back room.

A soft nuzzle bought her attention down the Yasu, who had woken up enough to peer up at her with sleepy eyes. She smiled softly at him, "wanna go to bed?". The white-haired boy nodded before reaching up blindly, a soft wind rustling his hair and a good night leaving his lips as he spoke to his parents.

"You should take the young one to bed, Dear, and maybe sleep the day off, "Mayu-san said with a red-lipped smile, " this old coot and I will head off soon, god knows he needs his beauty sleep,"

Keira laughed at the indignant sound that left Masahiro's lips and gathered Yasu up into her arms. Shuffling out of the booth and placing goodbye kisses on each of the elderly's cheeks, she padded upstairs, walking down the hall and tucking the white-haired boy into her bed. Tucking him in and placing a kiss on his head, she turned around and was met with a startling cold embrace, covering her from head to toe. She sighed in response, simply standing there in the embrace of Yasu's ghostly parents and letting the tension from the day melt out of her. A few moments passed before she thanked Shinju-san and walked out of the room, flicking the lights off on her way out before flopping on to the couch.

The exhaustion from the day was catching up to her, and she couldn't help but zone out, an arm lifting to cover her eyes. She didn't know how long she lay there but she knew she wasn't going to be getting any sleep that night, not with the tingles coming from her leg. Her head didn't hurt anymore thankfully, the healing from Recovery Girl finally wiping away the last few traces of the headache however her leg still seemed to think it was broken and she was a tad hesitant to use a broken leg she thought she had.

It wasn't long before Nick wandered up the stairs after showing the old companions off and locking the front doors. She heard him bustle around, opening her door to check on Yasu and then coming back out to the lounge room. She heard the familiar beep of their gaming console turning on before Nick reached over to pick her legs up and then sit down, putting them on his lap. A controller landed hard on her chest and she wheezed at the sudden pain, pulling her arm away from her eyes to glare at her brother. He sat there, an expectant look on his face and she sighed, sitting up next to him properly and watching as he flicked the tv on and pressed play on his own controller.

They stayed up all night together, playing one game after the other. Keira didn't really want to talk about anything, but her brother baited her on with some cheesy trash talking and it wasn't long before they were trying to push each other over for a cheap win. A little after 2 am, Yasu padded out, his fist rubbing at his itchy eyes as he crawled up on to the couch and nestled into Nicks side. Her brother handed over the controller, showing the boy how to play the racing kart game and it wasn't long before Nick had another controller in his hand and the three were competing against each other.

Nick ended up passing out, head laying on the back of the couch and softly snoring, while Yasu and Keira sat close to the tv, watching All might reruns, a guilty pleasure the two of them shared. Yasu was kneeling, staring at the tv with childlike wonder and Keira couldn't help but smile at the young boy before glancing back at her brother. The past day hadn't been one of her best, she thought to herself, but at least she was able to spend more time with her family.

It was a beautiful morning, the sun filtering in through the open windows and warming up _Dasoku_. Keira sat at the bar, her morning coffee in front of her and Kenta at her side, telling her cheesy jokes and stories of his past that never failed to make her laugh. However, today was different. It had been a week since her travesty of an exam, and Keira couldn't help but send nervous glances towards the door. The twins usually bought their mail in the mornings, the postmen never wanting to go too far into the rough looking neighbourhood, but they were late today, and Keira couldn't help but bite at her nails, not caring if they were sharp or not.

"Go take a shower idiot," Keira let out an 'ow' as Nick reached over, whacking her shoulder gently before pointing a finger at her with a mock stern expression, "I don't want Yasu's parents to think you're a bad influence when he ends up not showering just because you forgot one day"

Keira poked her tongue out, flashing a glare at a laughing Kenta before getting up, however before she could even take one step up the stairs, the front bell rang, opening to reveal a familiar person. Her orange hair was down today, in a low ponytail pulled over her shoulder, and it almost seemed to glint in the warm sunlight. She was in casual clothing, a simple pair of ripped jeans and a tank top, showing off muscled arms and a black ring tattoo around her left bicep. Sunglasses were pushed on top of her head, keeping strands out of her face and she seemed to be eating out of a chip packet. However peculiar enough, once she had finished the packet, she simply ate the plastic as well, to Keira's surprise. She swallowed her choice meal before opening her mouth to speak,

"It didn't say on your form anywhere that you lived in this kind of neighborhood Kid,"

"Koharu-sensei! What – what are you doing here!?"

The orange-haired lady shrugged, making her way over to Keira, who was dumbstruck at the sudden presence of the hero. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nick placating a protective Kenta who had tried to get up to intercept the hero's path towards his friend's little sister.

"I've got your results of course!" A hand came down on her shoulder and Keira flicked her eyes back to Koharu who eyes were curved in a friendly smile. Keira's nerves bubbled to full boil and she simply followed Hotaru's insistence for her to sit at the bar stool, her legs weak at the thought of her exam results "for some reason, the post refused to come out here, now we know why"

Koharu sat next to a shell-shocked Keira, before sending a smile Nick's way. However, he didn't seem very receptive to her friendly demeanour and crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow with a small frown.

"Who knew the infamous Hercules would be manning a bar," She said with a sarcastic tone, a hint of bewilderment and wonderment somewhere in there too,

"I only go by that name when I need too, call me Nicklaus, and you are?"

Koharu put her hand out, ready to shake hands with the retired hero, "Names Koharu, I work at UA. I was the one who made sure your sister got into the exam alright"

Nick scowled heavily at this, making no means to shake the lady's hand in return, "And yet no one made sure she got out alright,"

The hero pulled her hand back, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion, "Recovery Girl healed her," she said with a guarded tone, quick to jump to the defence of her school and faculty.

"Yet she had a panic attack on the steps of your school, had to walk home with a potential concussion and phantom pains in her leg, and then had to stay up for 24 hours just to make sure she would wake up. Maybe this school ain't worth the hype if it treats potential students with such carelessness," Nick sneered back, his true anger twisting his features into something that scared even Kenta. His hands had come to rest on the bar table, the wood letting out a painful creek at the force he applied to it.

Keira met Kenta's eyes in panic, and they both let out soothing noises, Keira jumping to put a hand to Koharu's arm and Kenta moving towards Nick.

"Alright that's enough, Nick, Keira's alive and well," Kenta reached out placing a hand on Nick's own, trying to distract him so they didn't have to buy another bar counter for the second time this month.

"And she is right here as well and would like to know her results, if you have them, "Keira looked at a scowling Koharu, the red heads face, while scowling, was also taken aback by the bartender's words. She seemed to snap out of it quick enough and quickly fished an envelope out of her back pocket and gave it to the nervous girl with an apologetic smile.

Keira's hand shook as she took the envelope, panic, and nerves building up inside of her and causing her body to heat up, steam wafting off her forearms. A large hand came to grasp her wrist and an arm came around her shoulders. Keira looked up at Kenta, who stood at her side giving her an excited grin and Nick who was telling her to take deep breaths. She abided, feeling the heat simmer down, and Nick pulled back.

Keira looked down at the sealed piece of paper, "I'm nervous to open it," she whispered out. Kenta squeezed her shoulder in reassurance.

"Don't be," Koharu whispered back, "I saw your fights, you were amazing" Keira looked up at this, shock written on her face that someone had seen her transform, and more so, thought she was amazing.

Nick placed a mug in front of the two ladies, Koharu looking surprised at the gesture, before filling them both up. He motioned for Keira to open the envelope, and she did, delicately tearing the side to slide the bundle of paper out.

The three of them watched on in anticipation, Keira's face strangely blank as her eyes rapidly scanned every single word on there. She looked up, locking eyes with Nick who was staring back at her, equally nervous. A small grin stretched across her face, slowly expanding before it was pushing at her cheeks and her eyes were curving with small tears gathered in the corners, "I got in"

Nick looked stunned as did Kenta and they both looked at each other before Nick was laughing aloud, vaulting over the bar to scoop his little sister up in a gigantic hug. Kenta was dancing around, pulling a stunned Koharu to her feet to swing her around all the while shouting at the top of his lungs and Keira couldn't help but laugh with them.

Lifting her head to stare at the ceiling, Keira's cheeks hurt from smiling so wide, but she honestly couldn't care. She was going to live her dream of being a Pro Hero, "I GOT IN!"


End file.
